Signal lantern



United States Patent Inventors Philip F. Grieger West Orange; Norman A. Martin, Kearny; William L. Douma, Bloomfield, New Jersey App]. No. 738,016 Filed June 18, 1968 Patented Dec. 1, 1970 Assignee McGraw-Edison Company Elgin, Illinois a corporation of Delaware SIGNAL LANTERN 4 Claims, 3 Drawing Figs.

11.8. CI 240/24, 240/106, 340/84 Int. Cl F21i 15/04, F21q 3/00 Field of Search 240/24,v

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,283,858 11/1918 Milliken 240/24 1,546,501 7/1925 Martus 340/84 2.731,.546 1/1956 Clevidence et al. 240/24 3,274,382 9/1966 Fattori 240/10.6

Primary Examiner-John M. Horan Assistant Examiner- Robert P. Greiner AttorneyGeorge H. Fritzinger ABSTRACT: A signalling device adapted especially for railroad switch signalling comprises a lantern having different in-' dicator openings moved selectively into view by shifting the lantern about a vertical axis, and a turntable in the lantern carrying a battery and lamp mounted thereon for turning movement relative to the lantern whereby the battery and lamp are held substantially stationary by inertia as the lantern is turned.

PATENTEU 0m 1970 iNVENTORS PHILIP F. GRIEGER NORMAN A.MARTIN WILLIAM L. DOUMA AGENT FIC3.2

v SIGNAL LANTERN Signal lanterns for railroad switch signalling are shifted back and forth to bring different colored windows at the top into view in a given direction. This shifting movement is carried out rather abruptly and imposes heavy strain on the battery, the mounting structure therefor and the circuit connections when the battery is mounted integrally with the lantern. By the present invention the lamp is mounted on the battery case avoiding the need for any flexing of circuit leads between the battery and the lamp, and the battery is in turn mounted independently of the lantern housing on a turntable so that substantially no rotative forces are imparted thereto as the lantern is shifted between its signalling positions. Thus, the rotative forces required for turning the lantern are reduced and strain on the battery structure during shifting of the lantern is eliminated.

An object of the invention is to provide a self-contained battery-powered signal lantern mounted to turn on a vertical axis, which carries the battery within the lantern but does not impart any rotative forces on the battery as the signal lantern is turned, which does not involve a flexing of any lead connections between the lamp and the battery, which has a low moment of inertia enabling the signal lantern to be turned easily between its signalling positions, and which is of a durable and economical construction.

These and other objects and features ofthe invention will be apparent from the following description and the appended claims.

in the description of our invention reference is had to the accompanying drawings, ofwhich:

FIG. 1 is a fractional vertical sectional view ofa signal lantern according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the parts constituting the signal lantern; and

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the mounting structure on the battery for the signal lamp.

The present signal lantern comprises a cylindrical housing open at the bottom and provided with an integral rectangular headpiece 11 at the top. The housing fits over a flange 12 of a circular bottom plate 13 and is held thereto by screws 14. The bottom plate 13 is secured by screws 15 onto a platform 16 mounted on the upper end ofa post 17. The post 17 is in turn rotatably mounted in a base 18 and is provided with a lever arm shown as a handle 19 to enable the post to be turned at will. In the four sidewalls of the headpiece 11 there are signal indicator openings 20 typically circular windows fitted with transparent color panels or screens ofwhich for example there are two red screens 21a in one set of opposite sidewalls and two green screens 21b in the other set of opposite walls. Thus, by turning the handle 19 by 90 either the red screens 21a or green screens 21b can be pointed in a given direction 22 to provide red or green signals when the lantern is lit.

ln the lantern housing is a battery 23 typically of an airdepolarizing type having a rectangular case 24 seating in a holder 25 having a rim flange 26 conforming to the outer wall of the case. The holder is mounted rotatably on the bottom plate 13 of the lantern housing via a turntable 27. The turntable comprises upper and lower rectangular plates 28 and 29 separated by a ball or roller raceway 30. The battery holder 25 is secured to the upper plate 28 by screws 31, and the bottom plate 29 of the turntable is bolted to the bottom plate 13 of the lantern housing through rubber cushions 32 to provide a shockproofmounting for the battery.

Mounted on the top of the battery 23 is a pair ofZ brackets 33 and 34 secured to upstanding terminal posts 35 by wing nuts 36 threaded onto the posts. The Z brackets extend'across the battery and have inner arms 33a and 34a overlapping each other at a spacing therefrom. Between these arms is an insulating bar 37 held in place by a pair of screws 38 passing through the top arm 33a and threading into the bar. The arms 33a and 34a in the block 37 have alined apertures receiving a lamp socket 39. This socket has a flange 390 secured by screws 38 to the arm 33a, and has a depending threaded terminal post 39b passing through the arm 34a. A nut 40 threaded onto the terminal post draws the arms 33a and 34a against the bar 37 into a rigid mounting. A lamp 41 is fitted into the socket as by a bayonet joint and extends upwardly into the headpiece ll. The electrical connections from the lamp to the terminal posts are made by the Z brackets 33 and 34. I

Since the battery and the lamp mounting thereon are supported wholly by the turntable 27 they are free to turn relative to the lantern housing. Thus, any sudden shifting of the lantern housing between its signal positions will exert only such turning force on the battery as arises from friction in the roller raceway 30 and will in general be insufficient to impart any motion to the battery due to its relatively large inertia. Thus, not only is the turning of the lantern made easier but also possible breakage of the battery case is prevented and strain on the battery electrodes is avoided. Further, sloshing of the liquid electrolyte is prevented.

The embodiment of our invention herein particularly shown and described is intended to be illustrative and not necessarily limitative of our invention since the same is subject to changes and modifications without departure from the scope ofour invention, which we endeavor to express according to the following claims.- I

We claim:

1. A signalling device comprising a lantern having different indicator openings thereabout, means mounting said lantern for rotational movement about a vertical axis to permit said different openings to be brought selectively into view in a given direction, a battery in said lantern, a lamp mounted on and electrically connected to said battery, a turntable in said lantern carrying said battery, and means freely rotatably mounting said turntable on said lantern for enabling the battery and lamp to be held substantially stationary by inertia as said lantern is turned.

2. A signal lantern comprising a base supported for rotation about its central vertical axis, an enclosure fixedly mounted on said base for rotational movement therewith, said enclosure having a plurality of different indicator windows spaced thereabout to be brought into view in a given direction responsive to a shifting of said base about said axis, a battery in said enclosure, a lamp mounted on said battery and electrically connected thereto, and means freely rotatably mounting said battery on said base about said central vertical axis for causing the battery to be held substantially stationary by inertia during a shifting of said base about said axis.

3. A signal lantern comprising an upright post pivoted for rotational movement about its central axis, a platform secured to the upper end of said post, a lantern enclosure fixedly mounted on said platform and having a plurality of windows fitted with light screens for passing light of different colors, said windows being spaced about said enclosure to be brought selectively into a given view by a turning of said base, a turntable in said lantern enclosure, a battery mounted on said turntable, and a lamp carried with said battery and electrically connected thereto for supplying signal lights of different color via said windows, and means freely rotatably mounting said turntable on said platform to permit said battery to be held substantially stationary by its moment of inertia as said post is turned to bring different light signals into view.

4. A signal lantern having a base and an upper enclosure provided with different indicator openings spaced thereabout, means supporting said lantern for rotational movement about a vertical axis to enable said lantern to be turned to bring said openings selectively into view, a battery in said lantern, a lamp fixedly mounted on said battery and electrically connected thereto, a holder in said lantern into which said battery is set, and a bearing means freely rotatably supporting said holder on said base about said vertical axis for permitting the lantern to be turned to provide different signal indications without requiring substantial turning movement of said battery. 

